"By The Numbers" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
Sporting Kansas City puts a bow on a three-match homestand, hosting long-time opponents, the LA Galaxy at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday night. The match begins at 7:30 p.m. CT with local coverage on 38 The Spot and a national broadcast on UniMas and TUDN. Tickets are on sale at SeatGeek.com.
Looking to snap a five-match home losing streak, Sporting KC will try to keep the Galaxy down. The Galaxy are positioned below the playoff line for the first time this season after a 1-0 loss at FC Dallas last Saturday. Their loss in Frisco was their fourth loss in their previous five matches, putting them outside the playoff picture in ninth place. Sporting will look to keep LA in that spot with a result on Saturday.
Here is a numerical, deep dive into Saturday's matchup between Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting are 6-2-4 against LA in the last 12 regular season meetings since October 2015.
- Sporting are 6-1-6 in their last 13 regular season home matches against LA since 2008. Their only loss during that time came by a 2-0 scoreline on May 29, 2019.
- Sporting swept the 2021 series with a pair of 2-0 wins, prevailing away from home on July 4 and at Children’s Mercy Park on Oct. 27
- Sporting forward Johnny Russell has five goals in six regular season appearances against LA, including both goals in a 2-0 win the last time the clubs met in Kansas City on Oct. 27, 2021.
- John Pulskamp became the youngest goalkeeper in Sporting history to record a shutout in the 2-0 win over LA last October, doing so at age 20.
- Sporting and LA have met 66 times in the regular season, with the Galaxy holding a narrow 26-25-15 edge. The 66 regular season meetings dating back to 1996 have produced just three scoreless draws.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2022 MLS record: 5-14-5, 20 points (14th in Western Conference)
- 2022 MLS home record: 3-6-2, 11 points (8 GF, 13 GA)
- 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs: Lost to Real Salt Lake in Western Conference Semifinals
- All-time Honors: Two MLS Cups (2000, 2013), four Open Cups (2004, 2012, 2015, 2017), one Supporters' Shield (2000).
- Sporting’s four domestic titles over the last 10 seasons are tied with Seattle for the most among American MLS clubs since 2012.
- Sporting is the only club to reach the U.S. Open Cup semifinals, MLS conference semifinals or Concacaf Championship League semifinals in each of the last six seasons since 2017.
- All five of Sporting’s regular season wins have come by one goal. The club has five victors and five losses in one-goal games this season.
- Sporting are 4-2-2 when scoring first.
- Forward Johnny Russell leads Sporting with eight goals in all competitions, while fellow winger Daniel Salloi ranks second with six. Both players are tied for the team lead with 48 shot attempts in the regular season.
- Russell has become the first player in Sporting history to score six goals in five straight regular seasons.
- Midfielder Felipe Hernandez leads Sporting with four assists in all competitions and has appeared in all 28 competitive matches this season. He also leads the team with 25 interceptions in the regular season.
- Eight of Sporting’s 13 regular season assists have come from Sporting KC Academy products.
- Midfielder Remi Walter leads MLS in distance covered (161.3 miles), ranks second among field players in recoveries (184) and leads Sporting with 25 key passes. His three goals are a career-high for a single league season dating back to 2013.
- Midfielder Roger Espinoza has become the third active MLS player to record an assist in 13 different MLS seasons alongside Kei Kamara and Dax McCarty.
LA Galaxy
- 2022 MLS record: 9-10-3, 30 points (9th in Western Conference)
- 2022 MLS road record: 3-5-2
- 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs: N/A
- All-time Honors: Five MLS Cups (2002, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014), two Open Cups (2001, 2005), four Supporters' Shields (1998, 2002, 2010, 2011)
- LA has lost three straight road matches and owns a 0-3-1 away record since May 18. The club secured its last road win on May 8 at Austin FC.
- According to Opta, LA ranks second in MLS with 39.4 expected goals.
- With 30 goals scored, they are underperforming their xG by -9.4, the worst such discrepancy in MLS.
- LA ranks second in MLS with 12 goals after the 60th minute, accounting for 40% of the club’s regular season goal total.
- LA has outscored opponents 12-2 after the 60th minute this season.
- LA is a perfect 5-0-0 when leading at halftime and a winless 0-9-1 when trailing at halftime.
- Forward Dejan Joveljic leads LA with nine goals, all of which have come at home. He has nine goals in 11 home appearances and zero goals in nine road appearances this season.
- Joveljic’s nine goals have come on only 23 shot attempts, giving him a shot conversion rate of 39.1%. Among players with at least five goals this season, he leads MLS with one goal every 73 minutes.
- Wingback Raheem Edwards has a team-best six assists, while midfielder Efrain Alvarez leads the team with 27 key passes.
- Forward Chicharito Hernandez ranks second in MLS with 23 non-penalty goals over the last two regular seasons.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Johnny Russell ranks third in club history with 46 regular season goals and fourth with 51 goals in all competitions, one shy of tying Davy Arnaud for third.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has 12 career game-winning goals in the regular season, one shy of tying the club record held by Preki and Dom Dwyer.
- Midfielder Roger Espinoza has made 306 career regular season appearances for Sporting, one shy of passing former LA Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones for third-most all-time among one-club MLS players.
